COLUMBUS – Townships would face new barriers to asking voters to levy an income tax on businesses and workers under a bill that passed the Ohio Senate this week.

In joint economic development zones, townships and municipalities agree to share revenue from an income tax – a money-making option that townships aren’t allowed to exercise on their own. Opponents say a JEDZ amounts to “taxation without representation,” since business owners and workers who don’t live in the township can’t vote on the tax. Townships say they need the option as a way to generate revenue after cuts in state money.

The window for passing a joint economic development zone was already shrinking. The Ohio House this winter overwhelming passed a measure that on Dec. 31 would end township residents’ ability to vote on a JEDZ.

Senators this week, on a 30-2 vote, added to the bill a requirement that all townships trying to pass a JEDZ this year first have the ballot measure reviewed by a council made up mostly of business owners. That part of the bill would take place immediately if Gov. John Kasich were to sign the bill into law. Those changes head back to the House for likely approval.

Townships have been hit hard by cuts in state money, said state Sen. Bill Seitz, R-Green Township, who voted against the bill. He said the anti-JEDZ bill was part of an “unrelenting war” on township governments’ revenue.

“Businesses do not get to vote when municipalities raise their income stream, and no one calls that taxation without representation,” Seitz said in a Senate speech.

But some businesses may avoid townships because of the threat of a JEDZ, said Sen. Randy Gardner, R-Bowling Green.

Several townships in Southwest Ohio, such as Colerain and Symmes, are considering JEDZs. Springfield Township escaped the prohibition against JEDZs when it won approval in May to create one. Voters approved a 1.5 percent tax on workers’ income and business profits within the township limits.

If the bill were to become law, the cousin to a JEDZ – a joint economic development district – would still be allowed. ⬛